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Crash on I-80 kills one, injures dozens

October 9, 2013

Firefighters from the White Deer Township and Milton fire departments work to extract victims from a crash between a Greyhound bus and a tractor-trailer in central Pennsylvania at about 2 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2013. State police said the 1:45 a.m. Wednesday crash occurred in the westbound lanes of Interstate 80 in White Deer Township in Union County. The front end of the bus became lodged into the rear of a tractor trailer. Pennsylvania State Police confirmed at least one person was killed in the crash. About 40 people were on the bus, according to police, with dozens being injured. Traffic along Interstate 80 was backed up for miles as both lanes of travel were closed for about three hours as a result of the crash. (AP Photo/Milton Standard-Journal, Kevin Mertz)

WHITE DEER, Pa. (AP) — A Greyhound bus and a tractor-trailer collided early Wednesday on Interstate 80 in central Pennsylvania, killing a woman, critically injuring four other people and sending dozens to the hospital, authorities said.

The crash occurred at 1:45 a.m. in the westbound lanes of I-80 in White Deer Township in Union County, state police said.

Forty-five of the 50 people aboard the bus, including the driver, were taken to five hospitals, Greyhound spokeswoman Alexandra Pedrini said. The bus was heading from New York City to Cleveland, and the driver had been with the company for more than 12 years, she said.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, Akos Gubica, 36, of New Jersey, told The (Sunbury) Daily Item that his rig was struck from behind by the bus. Pedrini declined to comment on that, saying the company was cooperating with authorities in their investigation and was conducting an internal probe.

Geisinger Medical Center said four of the 17 patients it received were in critical condition, with two listed as serious and 11 fair. Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg said it had received 14 people but was unable to immediately provide their conditions. Pedrini said she had been told that at least 16 people taken to hospitals had been treated and released.

The westbound lanes of the interstate were shut down, but one lane of travel was opened just before 5 a.m. Wednesday.